


the branches we bind

by jinxfabray



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, all fluff, zero plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 19:48:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10793535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxfabray/pseuds/jinxfabray
Summary: in which it's five am and jongdae hasn't gone to bed yet.





	the branches we bind

**Author's Note:**

> aye said i should write jongdae and minseok baking and instead i wrote this. it's part of this series i'm apparently writing of cute drabbles in which xiuchen are ridiculously domestic?? i hope u like it!
> 
> title from woodland by the paper kites

/is it weird to give your headache a name/

jongdae’s finger hovers over the “search” button, because it’s probably not the most normal question but the internet always has answers, and he’s starting to feel like he’s losing his mind. they’ve been together for so long, his headache and him, that he’s started to think of it almost fondly. in the end, he decides against searching for answers that will probably confirm he needs more sleep.

he couldn’t sleep if he tried, not after that twentieth cup of crappy coffee - honestly, he doesn’t even like how coffee tastes when he makes it, but he doubts minseok would be happy to get up at half past four in the morning. minseok won’t be happy when he finds jongdae didn’t go to bed at all tonight, so he’s actually just preparing himself for the inevitable lack of good coffee that he’ll have to endure until minseok forgets why he was mad in the first place, which could last a whole fifteen minutes if he’s really unlucky.

he lifts his glasses to rub at his eyes so he can try and look at his computer’s screen again and see if the diagrams have magically changed while he was looking away. he didn’t even use to need glasses back when he was in college, but then his life started to consist of hours and hours in front of a screen and his eyes seem to have gotten tired of it. it’s very frustrating, even if minseok seems to think they aren’t necessarily a bad addition to his face. jongdae very distinctly remembers him choking on his afternoon cappuccino when he first saw him wearing them, so he guesses he doesn’t hate them. he has a soft spot for all things that can make minseok give him that sort of look.

the graphics are still making as little sense as before, and jongdae groans, throwing his head back. it’s pointless. he could’ve been sleeping this whole time and it would’ve been just as useless as staying up and trying to finish his work was. he runs his fingers through his hair, which turned into a hot mess at least two hours ago so he’s way past caring, and stands up, stretching his arms over his head until his back makes a satisfying noise like it’s just cracked open. 

he’s closing the fridge after grabbing the bottle of water when he sees minseok leaning against the door’s frame, hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie and a sleepy smile on his face.

“did i wake you,” jongdae asks, his eyes going wide because he’s not ready for minseok to frown in disappointment at him just yet, he was hoping he wouldn’t have to deal with that until at least six am.

“nope,” minseok shakes his head, walking past him and pulling up his sleeves, which makes jongdae’s heart skip a beat because that means coffee, probably. “but i woke up and i thought, since we’re both up so early and we have plenty of time to have breakfast before leaving for work, we could do something fun.”

minseok actually sounds sort of excited about it, and jongdae’s confused but too relieved to ask any questions.

(minseok is never mad unless he has a good reason to be, but he does get frustrated when jongdae does dumb things like pulling all nighters as if he was nineteen and studying for finals, instead of getting enough sleep and eating properly and all those other adult things he knows are important.)

“uh, sure,” jongdae shrugs, leaving the water bottle on the counter and coming up to stand by him as minseok turns the oven on. he wants to say he was actually working but it would be a terrible idea to bring it up. “what do you mean by something fun?”

“remember those muffins you used to make when you worked at the cafe,” minseok starts, and his eyes do that sparkly thing that make jongdae go weak in the knees. “do you think you could teach me?”

“you know how to bake,” jongdae rolls his eyes, but minseok is shaking his head at him and grabbing his elbow to get him closer to the kitchen counter, where he’s started piling up ingredients.

“i do, but i don’t know how to make /those/ muffins,” minseok says patiently like he’s explaining things to a toddler. jongdae would say something about it but he’s busy being endeared by how minseok is going on tiptoes to reach the flour from the shelf. “come on, it’ll be fun,” minseok waggles his eyebrows, and for a second jongdae forgets what time it is and how badly his head hurts, because this could actually be fun and maybe it will be more helpful for his diagrams if he clears his head a little. 

it’s just like old times, in a way, except jongdae didn’t stay working at the cafe for much longer after they started dating because college took up most of his time, and they hadn’t had much of a chance to fool around in the kitchen like this after that. minseok is clearly less concerned about hygiene here than he is at the cafe’s, judging from how little he hesitates before tracing jongdae’s jaw with a finger covered in batter. jongdae doesn’t react fast enough to defend himself, and minseok gets to press his thumb on his nose, leaving his face covered with the oily chocolate mix. he’s about to protest when minseok corners him against the counter and licks it off in what very slowly turns into a kiss jongdae sighs into, letting his body finally relax.

he falls asleep on the kitchen table, and wakes up to the delicious smell of freshly baked muffins, a cup of coffee waiting on the counter.

“am i late?” jongdae asks, scrambling to get to his feet and feeling around his pockets for his phone.

“it’s half past six,” minseok says, firmly pushing back down onto the chair with a hand on each of his shoulders. “we’re gonna have breakfast, we’re gonna shower, and i’ll drive you to work, i’ve already told joonmyun i’ll be in a little late today.”

“thanks,” jongdae mumbles, looking at his too-good-for-him boyfriend taking the tray of muffins out of the oven. “i’m sorry, you know.”

“i know,” minseok says as he’s pulling the muffins out of the tray and onto a plate, without even looking at him. something sinks to the bottom of jongdae’s stomach when he’s confronted with minseok’s back for over five minutes, and he’s already opening his mouth to continue apologizing when minseok finally turns around. “i hate seeing you like this,” he says, sounding a little defeated. “you take such good care of everyone around you, it’s ridiculous how easily you forget to do the same for yourself.”

jongdae wants to say something else, possibly argue, but minseok is frowning and he looks so serious he just sighs, running his fingers through his hair and wincing when he feels his out of control it is, probably standing up in every possible direction.

“here,” minseok offers him the plate of muffins, staring at him insistently until he’s grabbed one. he leaves the plate on the table, and jongdae’s expecting him to sit across from him and continue lecturing him. 

(what’s truly ridiculous is that even now, after all these years, still jongdae sometimes forgets minseok loves him exactly the way he is and would never ask him to change a thing about himself, no matter how much it might frustrate him that he’s so stubborn about work sometimes.)

minseok sits on his lap, throwing an arm around his shoulders, and buries his face in his neck with a contented sigh. jongdae would one hundred percent quit his job if minseok asked him while sitting like that. he’d probably sell of his earthly belongings and build him a shrine with a gold statue carved with own hands, if minseok suggested it while pressing his lips against his collarbone like he is right now. 

“i just want you to relax a little,” minseok mumbles, and jongdae couldn’t possibly more relaxed than he is right now, but the part of his brain that’s still functioning says he understand what minseok means and that he’s not referring to this instant. it’s a very small part of his brain, though. “i mean, you’re an adult, i guess you can stay up as long as you want to, i just work very hard and i think it’s really unfair that you’re not in bed demanding to be cuddled when i’m tired and wanting to sleep.”

“i have never in my entire life demanded such thing,” jongdae says, trying to put some distance so he can at least try and sound offended, but minseok is holding onto him too tightly and he’s only slept like forty minutes so he doesn’t have neither the strength nor the will to actually push him away. “but okay, i guess if it’s for your sake that you think i should be in bed at night, i can do it.”

minseok is the one who finally does it, getting up and ignoring jongdae making grabby hands at him.

“have your breakfast,” he says, handing jongdae the still hot cup of coffee. “that’s a double espresso but don’t get used to it, i just don’t want you falling asleep at work so you can actually win your battle against those diagrams and then come home ready to get into bed with me.”

“i love you,” jongdae says, grabbing his hand to pull him closer again until he can kiss him gently. “thanks.”

“i love you too,” minseok gives him a small smile, pressing one last peck against his lips before he’s walking out of the kitchen.

jongdae brings the cup of coffee to his lips, breathing in the smell as he watches minseok walk away. it smells of cinnamon and home.

 

(it also smells like maybe minseok lied about how much caffeine is in it because he cares too much about jongdae's nervous system to feed him anything but love, support and decaf)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on [twitter](http://twitter.com/ofstellardust) literally always


End file.
